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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rock — music
  5. stem — to come from
  6. chair — a leader
  7. last — final
  8. sharp — clever
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. row — a line
  13. last — to go on
  14. rock — a stone
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. row — to paddle
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. ball — a great time
  23. last — finally
  24. sharp — exactly

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com